Monthly Archives: October 2015

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

Princess Astrid of Belgium in a white Stetson during her visit to Canada this week (Blog Real)

Infanta Elena enjoying a day of riding with her daughter Victoria (Svenskdam)

The largest exhibition of Queen Elizabeth’s outfits (150 in total) will go on display next year at Buckingham Palace as part of her 90th birthday celebrations (Telegraph)

Thanks to the help of some eagle eyed readers, we identified two more orange hats worn by Queen Elizabeth. Stay tuned first thing tomorrow when we look at the largest owner of orange royal hats (not surprisingly, a member of the House of Orange)

Royal Hats

The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled at two formal events this week. Kate wore some spectacular earrings originally belonging to her mother and to the late Queen Mother  (Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor and The Court Jeweller)

For any Halloween enthusiasts- take a peek back at King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s 25th anniversary back in 2001 with Elizabethan dress code. It’s one of the few times we’ve actually seen royals in costume. (Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor)

And finally- Princess Leonore of Sweden wishes everyone a Happy Halloween. I think her royal antennae are a first here at Royal Hats! (Princess Madeleine of Sweden Facebook)

Inventory: Queen Mathilde’s Orange Hats

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 As promised, we’re going to continue our inventory of orange hued royal hats with a peek into Queen Mathilde’s closet:

1.   2.   3.
Designer: unknown; Fabienne Delvigne; Fabienne Delvigne
Last Appeared:July 21, 2004;  May 2, 2009; July 21, 2014

4.Embed from Getty Images    5.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: both are Fabienne Delvigne
First Appeared:  May 21, 2015; October 2, 2013

UPDATE: Since this post’s publication, Queen Mathilde has added several additional orange hats to her wardrobe:

6.      7.
Designer: both are Fabienne Delvigne
First Appeared: October 11, 2016– revamped and reintroduced March 13, 2018; March 15, 2018

8.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne custom
First Appeared: October 16, 2019

Finally, there is one more hat that deserves inclusion here- a natural straw picture hat with wide orange stripe around the brim. Queen Mathilde first wore this piece for National Day in July 2010 (below left) and repeated it most recently while on a July 2012 visit to Burundi (below right).

   

A hand full of orange hats in a royal millinery closet might not sound like much but in relation to the size of Mathilde’s overall wardrobe, I think it is significant. I’m also struck by the bold shapes and brave shades she has chosen- this is not orange for the faint of heart! Queen Mathilde wears orange well and my guess is that we will see more hats in this colour appear in coming years. For now, what do you think of this collection?

Photos from Newscom; The Belgian Monarchy; Benoit Doppange, Photonews and Christophe Licoppe © Photo Newsvia Getty; Benoit Doppange via Belga; Julien Warnand/epa/Corbis; Philip Reynaers/Photo News S.A./Corbis;  Albert van der Werf/dpa/Corbis; 

Japanese Royals Visit Brazil

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Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko arrived in Sao Paulo yesterday to begin a short visit to Brazil. On their visit the Monument to Japanese Immigration Pioneers at the Ibirapuera Park, the couple planted a memorial tree. Princess Kiko wore a simple cream straw hat with a squared crown and gently rolled brim. The hat is trimmed in a slim band around the base of the crown in the same textured beige silk as her suit. We don’t often see the princess in straw hats (most of her hats are felt or covered in fabric) or in such large brims and it’s nice to see this bit of change.

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Photos from Getty as indicated

Princess Beatrix Attends Anniversary and Exhibition

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Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands undertook two engagements today, attending the ninetieth anniversary of development organization Simavi and visiting photographer Raymond Ruttin’s exhibition. For these events, she repeated a navy straw bumper hat adorned with three rows of shiny braided trim wrapped around the back brim. While there’s not much new to say about this often-seen hat shape, the trim is unique. These large bumper hats don’t lend themselves easily to trim (imagine a huge cabbage rose stuck on the side) yet milliner Suzanne Moulijn finds ways to add embellishment.

Princess Beatrix, October 28, 2015 in Suzanne Moulijn | Royal Hats   Princess Beatrix, October 28, 2015 in Suzanne Moulijn | Royal Hats

Princess Beatrix, October 28, 2015 in Suzanne Moulijn | Royal Hats

Designer: Suzanne Moulijn
Previously Worn: November 7, 2013; October 24, 2012

I find the subtle trim on this large, imposing hat an interesting contrast that works. What do you think?

Photos from Rpe/Albert Vd Werf/dpa/Corbis, Rpe/Albert Vd Werf/dpa/Corbis and Rpe/Albert Vd Werf/dpa/Corbis

Inventory: Queen Elizabeth’s Orange Hats

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When Queen Elizabeth was spotted at Ascot last week in a peach textured hat and coat, it brought up repeated questions about why she seldom wears this colour. Orange is one of the most infrequently worn colours in the world of royal hats; with autumn in full swing (and Halloween around the corner), I thought it was a good time to look closer at the few royal hats in this hue. There’s no millinery closet better to start our tour than that of Queen Elizabeth.

The Queen has just two orange hued hats in rotation these days, both in shades of soft peach.

1. Embed from Getty Images   2.Embed from Getty Images

Designers: both are Rachel Trevor Morgan
First Appeared: November 19, 2009; June 12, 2012

UPDATE- Four new orange hued hats have been added since this post was published:

3.Embed from Getty Images   4.Embed from Getty Images

Designer: Angela Kelly; Rachel Trevor Morgan
First Appeared: June 16, 2016; June  25, 2016

 5. 6.Embed from Getty Images 

Designer: both are Angela Kelly
First Appeared: August 20, 2017; Dec 25, 2017

For her infamous début as a Bond girl at the opening of the London 2012 Olympics, Queen Elizabeth chose a peach ostrich feather fascinator. As she seldom wears such headpieces, I doubt we’ll see this piece worn publicly again.

Embed from Getty Images  

Designer: Angela Kelly made by Stella McLaren
First Appeared: July 28, 2012

Queen Elizabeth has worn several other orange hats over the past decade. While I suspect these have all been retired from service, they show some interesting diversity of style. The small number of hats here further proves that orange is certainly not Her Majesty’s favourite.

A.Embed from Getty Images      B.This is a red hat! See it at #5 here.   C.March 16, 2006 in Angela Kelly | Royal Hats

Designers: Philip Somerville; Angela Kelly
Last Appeared: November 13, 2008;  March 16, 2006

D.Embed from Getty Images    E.July 26, 2004 | Royal Hats    F.Embed from Getty Images

Designers: unknown
Last Appeared: July 17, 2003; June 17, 2007; July 20, 2009

 G.Queen Elizabeth, October 20, 2006 | Royal Hats    H.Embed from Getty Images  

Designers: unknown
Last Appeared: October 20, 2006; July 11, 2002

What do you think of orange and peach shades on Her Majesty? I suppose it’s a contrast from all the blue and pink hats she wears!
Two queens who wear orange well (and frequently!) are Queen Mathilde and Queen Máxima- stay tuned later this week as we look at the orange hats in their millinery closets.
Photos from Getty as indicated; Bauer Griffin; STR/Stringer and Mark Cuthbert via Getty